An inmate at a high-security jail is accused of trying to murder the prison’s imam after obtaining a knife behind bars, a court has heard.

Ahmed Ali Alid, 47, is accused of the attempted murder of Roderic Vassie in an incident at HMP Full Sutton in Yorkshire on August 8 last year.

Westminster Magistrates Court heard Alid, a Moroccan national, is accused of having a knife and using it to “slice” the top of Mr Vassie’s head before attempting to stab him five times.

Alid is also accused of inflicting actual bodily harm on prison guard Sarah Mitchell on October 21 last year, after he had been moved to HMP Wakefield.

Alid, who was charged following a Counter Terrorism Policing North East investigation, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday to face the charges for the first time.

Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram sent the case to the Old Bailey for a hearing on April 17.

Alid, from Hartlepool, did not indicate any pleas to the charges of attempted murder, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon in a prison.

“The defendant was a serving prisoner at HMP Full Sutton,” set out prosecutor Sally-Anne Russell.

“The first incident is that, on August 8, he attacked the imam in the prison using a sharp weapon.”

She said it is alleged Alid “sliced the top of his head with the weapon and then attempted to stab him a further five times to the head and neck area”.

Ms Russell said the alleged attack on Ms Mitchell happened when she opened his cell door at HMP Wakefield.

Alid appeared for the court hearing on a videolink from HMP Wakefield and he remains in custody.

A woman accused of expressing support for Hamas told a crowd the proscribed organisation is “fighting for freedom”, a court has heard.

On Monday, Bristol Crown Court heard Kwabena Devonish, 27, is alleged to have said she was “sick” of “being told to condemn Hamas”.

Devonish is accused of having expressed an opinion or belief in support of the proscribed organisation during a speech in November 2023.

The court heard Devonish had attended a march in Cardiff and addressed a crowd gathered at Ty William Morgan in Central Square.

Devonish was arrested in January 2024 after a video of the speech was posted on social media.

In a video played to the jury, Devonish said: “I would never condemn the resistance of Palestinians because their resistance is due to the occupation.

“So, if you want to talk about violence, if you want to talk about atrocities, then point the finger to the state of Israel.

“I am sick of being told to condemn Hamas, when Hamas are fighting for freedom, Hamas are fighting for the people.”

The court heard the march took place on November 11 2023 and was attended by about 500 people.

Diana Wilson, prosecuting, said: “There is no dispute this is Miss Devonish (in the video) and she is addressing a crowd, likely at the end of the march.”

Devonish, of Pentrebane, Cardiff, is charged with expressing an opinion or belief that is supportive of a proscribed organisation, namely Hamas, contrary to the Terrorism Act 2000.

The trial continues.

The jury has been sent out to consider verdicts in the trial of a 16-year-old boy accused of planning a terror attack on local synagogues.

Counter terror police found what Leeds Crown Court heard was an “arsenal” of weapons, including a crossbow and knives, when they raided the teenager’s home in Northumberland last February.

The defendant, who cannot be identified due to his age, denies preparing acts of terrorism, being a member of a proscribed organisation – a neo-Nazi group called The Base – as well as possessing and publishing terror documents.

The jury has seen images of his bedroom, including a replica of an SS officer’s cap, a flag of Rhodesia and a skeleton in a mask.

They have also been shown online messages with members of white supremacist groups and violent journal entries.

The jury has heard how the youth watched a video of the New Zealand mosque terror attack then looked up synagogues in the Newcastle area.

Michelle Heeley KC, prosecuting, has previously told the jury: “He communicated with others about his desire for action and he had carried out numerous preparatory steps towards carrying out those threats.”

Frida Hussain KC, defending, said the boy was “desperately lonely” and had been “plagued” with thoughts of killing himself and created an online persona as a distraction.

During the trial, Miss Hussain asked him: “Writing in these terms about harming other people, was this anything you wanted to do in reality?”

The defendant replied: “Just thoughts in my head. I never intended to harm anyone.”

Mr Justice Wall sent the jury out to consider their verdicts on Monday morning.

A man has been found guilty of travelling to Syria to fight with a terrorist group linked to al Qaida for jihad.

Isa Giga, 32, resigned from his job as a technical support consultant job at a technology firm and bought a business class return flight to Turkey before crossing into war-torn Syria in August 2015.

Despite pleas from his family, Giga did not return to the UK for nine years and was arrested upon his arrival on a flight from Turkey last May.

Following a trial at the Old Bailey, he was found guilty of preparation of terrorist acts between August 31 2015 and August 31 2016 by travelling to Syria to fight with the Jaysh Al Fath groups.

The court heard how Giga had left the home he shared with his parents and sister in Hounslow, west London, in August 2015 and informed them he had gone to Syria for jihad.

On September 11 2015 – the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States – he told his sister: “I have come here to fight for jihad. I’m based in Idlib province and I fight for Jaysh al Fath which is the rebel coalition which includes the Free Syrian Army up to al Qaida-linked groups.

“I have come here to fight against (Bashar) Assad and also to fight against Isis. I can’t sit at home when fellow Muslims are in need and their religion is in danger.”

His father responded: “Please don’t do anything that will break my or your mother’s or family’s heart, stay within the bounds of true Islam and humanity, stay away from extremism and follow the Sunnah.”

But in a further message to his sister, Giga said he had finished his training and had been given the “opportunity to fight on the front line in the near future”.

He told her: “I hope more than anything to gain martyrdom while fighting against Isis or against the Assad regime but I fear death as much as anyone else so I am in need of your duas (prayers).”

The court heard that Giga’s father did everything he could to try to convince his son to return home and travelled to Reyhanli, a small Turkish town close to the Syrian border.

In a letter to Giga from the border, he wrote: “I have promısed your mum that somehow I will try my best to convince you to come out of there, and we will settle down anywhere in this world where you feel comfortable and happy…

“Can you for one minute imagine what the rest of her life will be like if something was to happen to you? Isa, her life wıll be destroyed and so will all of ours.

“It is on that basis I beg you to stay safe and come out of there immediately. And stay away from the front line because the Russians are using all kınds of firepower.”

However, Giga appeared to be set on “martyrdom”, the court heard.

Then in December 2015, Giga told his sister that he planned on doing charity work – although the organisation concerned had no record of it – and by August 2016 contact with his family petered out.

Eight years later, Giga was issued an emergency passport by the British Consulate in Istanbul.

Police were waiting when Giga arrived at Heathrow Airport on a Turkish Airlines flight on May 23 2024.

Following his arrest, Giga made no comment in police interviews but in a prepared statement denied he had travelled to Syria to fight or join any groups.

He claimed he had lied to his family about doing charity work, training, fighting and joining groups because he thought they would struggle to understand the idea of going there simply to live.

Giving evidence in his Old Bailey trial, Giga maintained that he had gone to Syria only to live in an Islamic state.

A jury deliberated for 10 hours and 26 minutes to reject his version of events and find him guilty by a majority of 11 to one.

Judge Mark Lucraft KC ordered a report and adjourned sentencing to October 17.

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “We have been clear for some time now that anyone returning to the UK suspected of being involved in any terrorist-related activity overseas will be thoroughly investigated.

“We work very closely with other partners and agencies here in the UK and overseas in order to do this and help keep the public safe.

“As this case shows, we will always arrest those who return to the UK after fighting for a terrorist group, no matter how long it has been since they left the country.”

An alleged neo-Nazi youth accused of planning a terrorist attack on synagogues faces a trial next year.

The 15-year-old boy, from Northumberland, is charged with engaging in conduct in preparation for committing acts of terrorism, contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006.

It is alleged he began to discuss planning a terrorist attack with an unidentified individual earlier this year.

He acquired equipment and weapons including a crossbow that were purchased online in 2024 and had downloaded extremist manuals, it is claimed.

Among items allegedly found at his home were nails tied together with duct tape, a life-size skeleton covered in body armour, and Nazi memorabilia.

The boy is also charged with one count of membership of a proscribed organisation, contrary to Section 11 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

The Base, an extreme right-wing white supremacist group, was proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the Home Office in July 2021.

The teenager was arrested as part of a pre-planned, intelligence-led operation on Thursday February 20.

On Friday, he appeared at the Old Bailey for a preliminary hearing before Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb.

He spoke to confirm his identity by video-link from HMP Wetherby in West Yorkshire.

Prosecutor Birgitte Hagem told the court the charges relate to alleged plans to attack local synagogues and a phone mast.

A provisional trial was set for January 13 at Leeds Crown Court, with a plea hearing on July 18 this year at the Old Bailey.

The defendant, who cannot be identified because of his age, was remanded back into custody.

We have been documenting the rising influence of the violent extremist group, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), in the United Kingdom and in Europe. The work of Faith Matters on highlighting the pernicious and extremist basis of this group can be found here, here and here.

In a recent tweet made on the 2nd of December 2024, the flag of the extremist group was raised at a graduation ceremony in the London Metropolitan University.

The tweet can be found HERE.

What is clear is that the individual in the tweet hoisted the TLP flag in a London University, which should have alarmed officers at the institution. At the very least, safeguarding officers at the University should have identified the flag, which was waived at the graduation ceremony and hauled in the student and referred the matter to Prevent and the counter-extremism programme of the Government.

TLP is a violent Islamist extremist group that has been used as a motivating factor in the murder of people in the U.K and attempted murder of people in France, deemed to be heretics or against Islam. It has also targeted minority groups in Pakistan such as Christians and Ahmadis.

Faith Matters has been speaking on this issue since 2017, and has raised this matter repeatedly with senior civil servants in successive British Governments. Very little has been done on this and surely, now is the time to realise that such violent extremist groups could take hold in our institutions.

Now is the time to act for the safety of U.K nationals and in the defence of our democratic values. Failure to do so verges on the criminally negligent.

Read More: Inspired by blasphemy killer, new Pakistani party eyes 2018 vote

Political activist Tommy Robinson will miss his own planned march for thousands of people after being remanded into custody by police.

The 41-year-old, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is accused of being in contempt of court following the airing of a film at a protest in central London.

He attended Folkestone Police station on Friday where he was separately charged with failing to provide his mobile phone pin to police under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, Kent Police said.

Robinson is due to appear at Woolwich Crown Court on Monday for a two-day hearing concerning allegations he breached a 2021 High Court order barring him from repeating libellous allegations against a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him.

Supporters of Robinson are due to hold a demonstration on Saturday, which is expected to be met with a counter-protest organised by Stand Up to Racism.

The Metropolitan Police and British Transport Police are due to be supported by officers from other forces across the country as the Met said there will be a “significant police presence” to ensure the two groups are kept apart.

READ MORE: Why did Tommy Robinson move from the EDL to Pegida?

We are proud to announce the launch of the following teaching materials that have been produced by the team at Faith Matters and in partnership with Syeda Ali and Professor Becky Taylor, from the University of East Anglia. We are particularly grateful to Syeda Ali from the University of Cambridge and Professor Becky Taylor from the University of East Anglia in helping Faith Matters to compile these resources for use at Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 in schools.

They are, we hope, a valuable teaching resource for teachers when they are looking at issues of social cohesion, citizenship, migration and integration, as well as how the Commonwealth has intersected with British history. These teaching materials tell the story of a community that is fast being forgotten and whose impact on British history over the last 200 years has been significant.

The teaching materials are part of the ‘From East to West’ project that was founded by Fiyaz Mughal – the Founder of Faith Matters and researched by Max Russel. It has been a personal journey for him to document and to collect the stories of those who were expelled and to get the information and pictures into materials that can inform young people about the history of the Ugandan Asians. Mr Mughal is himself, of Ugandan Asian heritage who was expelled from Uganda when he was aged just 15 months, with his family being hosted in refugee military bases such as the RAF base in Stradishall.

We hope that these materials can assist those in Key Stages 3 and 4 in understanding how the impact of the British Empire and its resource needs, drew in people from across the Commonwealth. Many of them were used as cheap labour, inculcated with a sense that they were part of Britain and its Empire, re-settled in Uganda and then forcibly expelled by Idi Amin in 1972. They found themselves at the brunt end of Idi Amin’s anger at Britain, which led to much discussion by the British Government at the time, as to what should be done for the Ugandan Asians.

The sad fact is that Idi Amin was a product of colonialisation. He was brought into the Ugandan army by the Briitish, nurtured and let loose on other Ugandan tribes. He was an enforcer of British rule in Uganda and thereby a by-product of Empire. His impacts were to be felt by the Ugandan Asians who arrived in Britain in August 1972, dressed in clothing that was meant for the heat of East Africa, rather than the cold autumn that was coming in late 1972. These Ugandan Asians, (about 28,000 of them), moved from a land of light, colour and greenery, to the cold, grey and rain of Britain.

This is their story – the story of a displaced people – twice over. Once from India, and then again from Uganda. Yet they have made their home in the United Kingdom, but for many, it has come at a cost of what they lost in terms of their possessions, their memories, their childhoods and their health. This is their story.

Read more: 50 years on, no-one talks about the trauma that affected the Ugandan Asians

A hospital anaesthetist is facing jail after injecting his partner with drugs during a series of exorcism ceremonies, leaving her close to death with multiple organ failure.

Hossam Metwally, 60, made dozens of video recordings of himself administering fluids through a cannula to Kelly Wilson while chanting as part of a “dangerous perversion” of the Islamic Ruqya ritual, a court heard.

A jury at Sheffield Crown Court was warned about the disturbing nature of the content before it was shown extracts from 200 clips the doctor recorded over four years, mainly at his home in Grimsby, north-east Lincolnshire.

Some of the recordings show Ms Wilson strapped to a bed, in others she is in a bath, and some show a white liquid being administered – on occasions using an electronic device.

In one clip from 2016, Metwally can be heard chanting and after he revives his partner with smelling salts, she asks “have you raped me?” and requests the police.

Metwally, who is originally from Egypt, told the jury he performed rituals on Ms Wilson to exorcise evil spirits, called Jinns, but said he only used holy oil and did not inject anaesthetics.

Following an eight-week trial, the jury on Thursday took just two hours to find the father-of-four guilty of endangering Ms Wilson’s life through the unlawful and deliberate intravenous administration of anaesthetics or sedative agents and drug possession offences.

Judge Jeremy Richardson QC told the jury he had “never been involved in a more bizarre case” in his 41-year legal career and said Metwally had been convicted on the “clearest possible” evidence.

Judge Richardson lifted a reporting restriction on Friday, allowing the trial to be reported for the first time, after Metwally admitted two further charges of voyeurism.

Opening the case for the prosecution in June, John Elvidge QC described how an investigation began after Ms Wilson was taken to the Diana, Prince of Wales Hospital in Grimsby – the hospital where Metwally also worked – on July 4, 2019.

Paramedics had arrived at Metwally’s home to find her in a deep coma, on the brink of a cardiac arrest and with a fluid line inserted in her chest.

Mr Elvidge said: “She was critically ill. It was obviously an emergency situation. The medical team at the hospital feared she may suffer a total organ failure and the serious possibility that she might die.”

The prosecutor said Metwally “chose not to reveal that he and Ms Wilson had been engaging in an exorcism ritual on the evening of July 3 2019 during which he had administered anaesthetic sedative agents and then had to give her oxygen support”.

The court heard Metwally qualified as a doctor in Egypt and worked in Saudi Arabia before coming to the UK in 1996 and Grimsby in 1999.

He worked in Goole, Scunthorpe and Grimsby and ran his own pain clinic in the port town.

Metwally met Ms Wilson, now 33, in about 2013 when she was a student nurse. The jury heard she had a history of depression and her health deteriorated so she stopped working as a nurse.

Mr Elvidge said “Dr Metwally gave people the impression that he was supportive of Kelly Wilson and yet he was willing to fuel her appetite for drugs which went well beyond what her general practitioner was prepared to supply.

“Put another way, he knowingly fed her addiction.

“More than that he habitually administered potentially lethal anaesthetic drugs to perform Muslim exorcism rituals known as Ruqya on Ms Wilson.

“That administration and the use of restraints were his own dangerous perversions of such rituals.

“The prosecution say Dr Metwally is a charlatan and he abused his position as a doctor to gain her confidence and encouraged her to become intoxicated using dangerous substances that rendered her into such a state that she forfeited all control over her body to him.”

The jury heard how Metwally held a “vast stock of drugs” at his Laceby Road home, including ampoules of ketamine, propofol, fentanyl and Diazemuls.

An imam told the jury the Ruqya is a valid practice but would never involve drugs or sedation.

He said the case was “quite disturbing” and watching the video clips made him feel “really upset”.

Metwally was found guilty of the intravenous administration of anaesthetic drugs to sedate Ms Wilson which endangered her life; the supply of various controlled drugs or medicines and the possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply.

He also admitted a charge of fraud during his trial.

Judge Richardson remanded Metwally in custody until he is sentenced on September 20 and told him a prison term “of some substance” is inevitable.